|  | 1.6 | The Transport Layer of the OSI Reference Model
| 1.6.1 | "Reliable" transport

As the transport layer sends its data segments, it can ensure the integrity of the data. One method of doing this is called flow control. Flow control avoids the problem of a host overflowing the buffers in the destination host. Overflows can present serious problems because they can result in the loss of data. Transport-layer services also allow users to request reliable data transport between hosts and destinations. To obtain such reliable transport of data, a connection-oriented relationship is used between the communicating end systems. Reliable transport can accomplish the following: Segment upper-layer applications Establish a connection Transfer data Provide reliability with windowing Use acknowledgment techniques